Introduction

A variety of metrics have been developed over the years to assess research impact for distinct scholarly purposes. They have different foci and their adoption rates vary. As more scholars turn to digital media to discuss research and share resources, new measures have been brought up to account for the online interactions in hopes that research impact can be assessed more thoroughly.

This guide provides an introduction to commonly used research metrics as well as recently developed ones. As Bollen, Van de Sompel, Chute, and Hagberg note in their study, "the notion of scientific impact is a multi-dimensional construct that can not be adequately measured by any single indicator, although some measures are more suitable than others." Researchers may want to consider the pros and cons of different metrics and use a combination of them as appropriate for assessment.